In India, Mastercard permits CVC-less payments for tokenized cards

On August 3, 2023, Mastercard announced the launch of CVC-free online transactions for users of its debit and credit cards who have tokenized their cards on merchant networks in India.

According to a press statement from Mastercard, the change seeks to speed up the checkout process and make online transactions easier and more secure.

On the back of debit and credit cards, there is a three-digit code called the CVC. The rules for tokenization established by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) provide that businesses using tokenized payments would only gather CVC once, during the tokenization of the card.

Cardholders will need to choose their tokenized card from the checkout page, confirm the one-time password (OTP), and finish the transaction without entering the CVC starting with the second transaction.

Several e-commerce businesses, according to Mastercard, have already embraced CVC-less payments.

By doing away with CVC, Mastercard said in a press release, “merchants can expect benefits like higher authorisation rates, reduced checkout abandonment, and enhanced customer payment experience.”

The new token-based transactions, according to Mastercard, will make use of three crucial elements that will guarantee a high level of security. These consist of:

Enhanced Security Features: Because token-based transactions use a dynamic cryptogram and a token that expires, they are intrinsically more secure and provide better protection against fraud.

Payments conducted using an OTP or additional factor authentication (AFA) make guarantee that only authorized users may finish the transactions.

Transactions based on tokens are domain-controlled since only the token requestor is permitted to look for a cryptogram. This creates a safe and controlled environment for transactions.

In a statement, Mastercard’s senior vice president for South Asia, Anubhav Gupta, said: “Mastercard is dedicated to provide cutting-edge and secure payment solutions that safeguard both businesses and customers. CVC-less payments on tokenized cards provide advantages that improve data security in addition to facilitating safer and easier domestic card payments online.

The introduction of CVC-free payments, which will lessen friction for cardholders and also connect their payment experience with other well-liked modes like UPI Intent, according to Cashfree Payments CEO and co-founder Akash Sinha, has them very thrilled.

According to Akshant Goyal, CFO of Zomato, “CVC-less payments have indeed enabled quicker completion of transactions and enhanced convenience for our customers, without compromising on the security of payments.”